Devastated states, territories slow to spend disaster aid

DEVASTATED STATES, TERRITORIES SLOW TO SPEND DISASTER AID: Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and four states in late April received almost $800 million in federal funding meant to help devastated schools quickly recover from hurricanes and wildfires and return to educating students.

— But even as schools prepare to open their doors this month, almost none of the funds have been requested, the Education Department confirmed. The Puerto Rico Department of Education has yet to tap its $589 million grant, by far the largest chunk of the federal cash, Pro’s Caitlin Emma and your host report.

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— The U.S. Education Department awarded the education grants in late April through the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations program, which helps states and school districts with the cost of reopening schools following a major disaster or emergency. Congress freed up $2.7 billion in February through the bipartisan budget bill H.R. 1892 (115) to help schools, colleges and universities recover from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the 2017 California wildfires.

— Just Texas has spent a small fraction of the grant, Jason Botel, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Education Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, told POLITICO.

— Puerto Rico Education Secretary Julia Keleher told POLITICO that her department is working to distribute its $589 million but complications have come up, including a lack of qualified bidders for technology repairs. “It‘s not for lack of action. We’re erring on the side of not spending money on anything, but having a strategy and following procuring processes,” Keleher said. “It’s not like we don’t know what to use the money for.”

— Schools in Puerto Rico were hit hard by Hurricane Maria in September 2017, leaving many students without education, food and care for weeks. The system was only partly operational months after the storm, with many schools running without drinking water or electricity. The storm also destroyed books, classroom furniture and supplies. When students return on Monday, many will fill portable classrooms, paid for with a combination of FEMA and local funds.

— Texas and Florida received the next largest grants after Puerto Rico, at $89.4 million and $84.5 million, respectively. California was awarded $14.4 million, the U.S. Virgin Islands $13.1 million and Georgia $94,500. Officials in California, Florida, Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not respond to a request for comment.

— In Georgia, Meghan Frick, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Education, said the state hasn’t spent any of the federal cash and is in the process of designing a grant program to award the funds to school districts. Botel said that’s typical of states that received the awards and can contribute to the delay in spending.

— Botel also told POLITICO that the states are still working through hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and that he expects the RESTART funds will be spent as the school year begins in earnest.

AFTER COURT VICTORY, PUERTO RICO ANNOUNCES FIRST CHARTER SCHOOLS: Government officials in Puerto Rico announced Sunday the opening of the territory’s first charter school, just days after a victory in court that sanctioned Puerto Rico’s new school choice law.

— The Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico on Aug. 20 will open the Vimenti School — a K-5 school with 58 students. The school will be in the capital city of San Juan and is approved to enroll 190 students by its fifth year. The emphasis will be on social and emotional learning, and students will be educated in both Spanish and English.

— “There is much left to do to implement the plan for education reform, but this is an important step. Doing more of the same is not an option for this administration,” Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said during a press conference, joined by Keleher.

— Officials also announced that a second nonprofit, Caras de las Américas, was also approved to operate a charter school. The organization will have a year to plan for the new school, which is expected to enroll 315 students. Keleher said that other nonprofits and local government agencies are being vetted as potential charter school operators for the 2019-2020 school year. Among those are LEAP Social Enterprise, Techno Innovators and Centro para PR.

— The announcement comes days after the Tribunal Supremo of Puerto Rico, the territory’s highest court, overturned a July decision from a lower court that found privately run charter schools and private school vouchers unconstitutional and potentially harmful to Puerto Rico’s traditional public schools.

— In a victory for Rosselló and Keleher, the justices found that charter schools are constitutional because the state “exerts control and ample power over the implementation and administration of these schools, which are free, nonsectarian … and open to the community.” As for vouchers, they wrote that even when private schools stand to benefit from the funding, it is “not to a degree that would lead to the subsidizing of private education in violation of our constitution.” More on that from your host here.

— Meanwhile, traditional public schools on the island bring students back for the new school year today. Keleher, who has touted an overhaul of the traditional public education system there, is welcoming students after the closure of dozens of public schools. “Change is happening here,” she told POLITICO. “Change creates uncertainty and anxiety, but this is a system that has been stagnant for over a decade.”

— But the teachers union has said it anticipates mayhem. School closures, a new system for online student registrations and the shuffle of teachers from closed schools could result in overcrowded classrooms and schools short on the necessary staff, spokeswoman Grichelle Toledo told POLITICO. Toledo said the union has asked the territory’s commission for civil rights to serve as an observer over the process.

ON ANNIVERSARY OF DEADLY RALLY, UVa. PRESIDENT APOLOGIZES: University of Virginia President Jim Ryan on Saturday apologized to the students who were injured amid white supremacist violence in Charlottesville a year ago, Caitlin writes.

— "As a university, this means we must have the courage to acknowledge the gaps that still exist. It means we must acknowledge that mistakes, including those made last year, understanding and trusting that mistakes in times of crisis are inevitable," Ryan said at a university event to commemorate the anniversary of the events, The Daily Progress reports. "We do nothing more than to recognize our common humanity to say to those who were attacked around the statue last year, I am sorry. We are sorry," he said.

— The newspaper said it was the first apology offered from the president's office for the march. Students and alumni have previously called on UVa.'s administration for stronger condemnations of the violence. While the university has often referred to the alt-right movement in more general terms, Ryan on Saturday called the marchers "white supremacists," "neo-Nazis" and "lost souls."

‘MARCH FOR OUR LIVES’ TOUR ENDS IN CONNECTICUT: The March For Our Lives “Road To Change” tour — a nationwide tour devoted to voter registration and an end to gun violence in America — concluded Sunday with an event in Newtown, Conn. There, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, where 17 people were killed on Valentine’s Day, joined those affected by the 2012 shooting that left 22 dead at Sandy Hook Elementary, as well as youth from cities affected by gun violence across the country.

— The Hartford Courant reports that hundreds of people turned out for event, many of them not of voting age. “We are all here today because no one should have to feel the life-shattering pain of losing a loved one to a gunman,” said Natalie Barden, whose younger brother Daniel was killed during the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. More from the Courant.

— Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement Friday that "instead of targeting schools simply by their tax status, this administration is working to ensure students have transparent, meaningful information about all colleges and all programs." DeVos wants to eliminatean Obama-era regulation that seeks to cut off federal funding to programs at for-profit schools and other career colleges where students graduate with large amounts of debt relative to their income.

— The decision was welcomed by for-profit colleges, which have battled the Education Department over the regulation for nearly a decade. Steve Gunderson, who leads the industry trade group Career Education Colleges and Universities, said that the Trump administration's plan to publish program-level data for all schools is a fairer approach.

— "The issue of gainful employment has endured for nine years and spanned across two presidencies," Gunderson said in a statement. "Now is the time to move beyond ideological attacks on any one sector of higher education and establish a uniform commitment to transparency of outcomes that can stand the test of time."

— Congressional Democrats and consumer groups slammed DeVos' move. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.),the ranking member on the House education committee, said the Trump administration is "violating its duty to faithfully execute the laws passed by Congress" by repealing the Obama-era regulation without any proposed replacement. And Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate education committee, blasted the DeVos proposal as "extreme" and said it would "pad the pockets of for-profit colleges." Read more.

REPORT ROLL CALL

— The American Enterprise Institute is out with a new report on what happens when student borrowers default.

— The Urban Institute examines the relationship between borrowers’ credit profiles and student loan default in a new report.

** A message from ECMC Group: February is Career and Technical Education Month®. At ECMC Group, we’re uniquely positioned to address America’s workforce development opportunities through education, investment and innovation. We’re building partnerships with businesses, educators and workforce development agencies to focus on the needs of students, employers and the U.S. economy. Together, ECMC Group, our affiliates (Altierus Career College, ECMC Foundation and ECMC) and our partners are making an impact on CTE access and student success, helping to close the nation’s middle-skills gap and improving student loan repayment. Learn more.**

About The Author : Mel Leonor

Mel covers education policy at POLITICO.

Before joining the team, Mel covered education and local government at the Naples Daily News and the Miami Herald, with prior stints at CNN and the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in South Florida, Mel is also a graduate of Florida International University.